debility
/dɪˈbɪlɪti/
"debility" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“debility” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A state of physical or mental weakness.
Corpus desk
Index EN-debility · debility · English
debility · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | debility |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /dɪˈbɪlɪti/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “debility” in English
Rare enough to double-check
debility is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /dɪˈbɪlɪti/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A state of physical or mental weakness.".
No misspelling variants are generated for debility in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English debylite, from Old French debilité (French débilité), from Latin dēbilitās (“weakness”), from dēbilis (“weak”), from dē- + habilis (“able”). The correct English form is debility, spelled D-E-B-I-L-I-T-Y.
Definition
- 1A state of physical or mental weakness.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how debility appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
As I was in a state of extreme debility, I resolved to sail directly towards the town, as a place where I could most easily procure nourishment. […] I was ready to sink from fatigue and hunger, but being surrounded by a crowd, I thought it politic to rouse all my strength, that no physical debility might be construed into apprehension or conscious guilt.
I was struck besides with the shocking expression of his face, with his remarkable combination of great muscular activity and great apparent debility of constitution
Etymology
From Middle English debylite, from Old French debilité (French débilité), from Latin dēbilitās (“weakness”), from dēbilis (“weak”), from dē- + habilis (“able”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.